Four decades of rooting for Kansas City-area sports teams brings me to this conclusion about Monday night's national college basketball championship: A Kansas victory became possible only when it seemed impossible.
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Like the Jayhawks, George Brett and the 1985 Kansas City Royals fell behind before winning a championship. Only, in other words, when the University of Kansas Jayhawks trailed by nine points with little more than two minutes to play.

For Kansas City-area sports teams in general and University of Kansas basketball teams in particular, high expectations are lethal. Remember those Roy Williams teams in the '90s that consistently entered March ranked No. 1 in the country only to lose early in the tournament to schools like Rhode Island? More recently and infamously, Bill Self's highly ranked Jayhawks got booted out of the tournament by the likes of Bradley and Bucknell.

This isn't to say the nine-point Memphis lead last night suddenly tilted the odds in the Jayhawks' favor. Along with losing when they're expected to win, Kansas City-area sports teams usually lose when they're expected to lose. This is a city, after all, whose professional football team hasn't won a Super Bowl since 1970 or a playoff game since 1993, and whose professional baseball team hasn't made a playoff appearance since winning the World Series nearly 23 years ago.

Before last night, in fact, the last big championship to come to this region was the University of Kansas' national basketball title in 1988. By Kansas City standards, two decades between championships is nothing.

Yet on those blue-moon occasions when a KC-area team does win a championship, this much is certain: It's an upset. The Minnesota Vikings were expected to clobber the 1970 Kansas City Chiefs. The 1985 Royals had to overcome a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. And it's no accident that the 1988 Jayhawks were known as Danny and the Miracles; although led by superstar Danny Manning, they entered the tournament as a six seed.

The 2008 Jayhawks pretty much followed that script. The No. 1 seed in its region, Kansas nearly lost to 10th-seeded Davidson, then defied expectations by defeating North Carolina, the nation's top-ranked team, in the Final Four. Entering the championship game against Memphis, Kansas was the undisputed underdog – until it took the court and powered its way to a five-point lead at the half, suddenly raising expectations that it might win the game.

Sure enough, that spelled trouble: The second half was a long series of missed shots and errant passes for the Jayhawks, enabling Memphis to stake that nine-point lead.

What happened after that – the Sherron Collins steal, the Mario Chalmers 3-point beauty in the final seconds of regulation – reminded me of something that Royals Hall of Famer George Brett said back in 1985, following his team's third World Series defeat to the Cardinals. With his team up against the wall, Mr. Brett said, "We've got them right where we want them."

OUTSTANDING! I love it! I love it that Danny Manning was on the court for both of KU's last two Championships! :D

hermhater

04-12-2008, 04:57 PM

OUTSTANDING! I love it! I love it that Danny Manning was on the court for both of KU's last two Championships! :D

Yep!

When did he start coaching for KU again?

It has been within the last couple of years if I recall correctly.

tammietailgator

04-12-2008, 05:10 PM

Yep!

When did he start coaching for KU again?

It has been within the last couple of years if I recall correctly.
Yep and he will be our head coach for his own alma mater when Selfs does decide to go to Oklahoma!

hermhater

04-12-2008, 05:17 PM

Yep and he will be our head coach for his own alma mater when Selfs does decide to go to Oklahoma!

How long until that happens?

tammietailgator

04-12-2008, 05:35 PM

How long until that happens?
Who knows, could be the length of his contract... however, I do see another Danny and the miracles in the future. It wouldn't even be a bad thing for him to gain experience as a head coach someplace else - then come back to KU.

hermhater

04-12-2008, 11:34 PM

Who knows, could be the length of his contract... however, I do see another Danny and the miracles in the future. It wouldn't even be a bad thing for him to gain experience as a head coach someplace else - then come back to KU.

I can see where you're coming from, but learning from Self wouldn't be too bad either...

:11:

tammietailgator

04-12-2008, 11:48 PM

I can see where you're coming from, but learning from Self wouldn't be too bad either...

:11:
That would be ideal!

Guru

04-13-2008, 01:35 AM

They can't use the Chiefs superbowl win for this. They rolled all over the Vikes in that game. It was never even in doubt.